Frugal Finds Friday: The SOC Exchange

Sarah Freymoyer and Shannon Ott of Chester County Moms.com and I ate lunch with Franco Lagudi of The SOC Exchange, a new website for selling everything from jewelry to cars. We delighted in tantalizing entries at Roy’s Restaurant in Philadelphia as we talked to Lagudi and enjoyed catching up with other mom bloggers from the area who were also invited to hear about the new, economical way to make money and offer resources in today’s economy.

“Only one dollar a month or ten dollars a year,” said Lagudi, sharing his vision for a new site which eliminates the complicated fee system of E-bay and provides a free non-auction site like Craigslist. “It is straight selling but you can haggle.”

When asked the benefits of this new site, Lagudi adds, “You get your own website, blog, RSS feed and more. There are many value added tools that help you create your own store for selling items. This is E-bay for today’s economy.”

Lagudi hails from Sydney, Australia and has arrived in America for a multi-state media tour, promoting his brainchild. After years in the retail food industry, Lagudi understands the importance of providing quality at a price people can afford. He says that his grandfather taught him principles that don’t change whatever the state of the economy.

“We are not in this to make money at this point. Right now we are growing a trading community and looking for critical mass,” says Lagudi when asked how the site will generate income when services are so cheap. “We are building a future business for tomorrow Everyone wins in the end. Sellers can even earn money just by linking to us from their own websites through affiliate links. We have several big charities on board earning 50% of proceeds from those who sign up, just by mentioning us to their email list.”

With a year under his belt and 30 developers adding new features every day, Lagudi says that the site already boasts over 10,000 items for sale with the biggest trends falling in the collectibles, crafts and sporting goods categories. Children’s items are also selling well. In another month, options for audio downloads and e-books will be coming.

In addition, you can list jobs or post a resume. Compared to Monster where employers pay rising fees to see resumes, Lagudi hopes The SOC Exchange will connect the looker with the lookee for much more reasonable rates – like almost nothing compared to the going rates. With a search by state, you can look for the latest entries right in your area for jobs or merchandise. Each state page will have the top ten most recent entries. Sellers simply update their item to get back to the top of the list. With no end date, sellers can list an item for as long or short as they wish, for no additional fee.

“It’s simple, easy, and non-cluttered. You have to see it for yourself,” says Lagudi with the excited gleam of new dad holding the future in his hands.

For more great information and money saving tips, stop by and visit Sarah Peppel at DIYFrugal.

*** And thanks to Lara from Little Gal Designs for the adorable hair accessories for girls we received at lunch as well! Thanks also goes to Beth from Rolemommy for setting up the lunch with Frank Lagudi.